Trenton, NJ – The Christie Administration today announced that the State Board of Education has approved new providers of the adult education assessment in New Jersey. Starting in January 2014, three vendors – Pearson VUE, Education Testing Service (ETS), and McGraw Hill – will all offer assessments leading to the state-issued high school diploma.

Each approved test has sections that must be passed in order to earn the diploma: writing, reading, math, science, and social studies. Applicants can retake the entire test or individual subtests.

Since 1959, the only adult education assessment available to receive a state-issued high school diploma in New Jersey has been the General Education Development (GED). That test was created under the auspices of the American Council on Education (ACE), a private nonprofit agency. In 2011, ACE announced the creation of the new GED Testing Service, a joint venture of ACE and the for-profit entity of Pearson, so it could align the new GED test with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and computerize the test.

Had the Department of Education remained with a sole provider, the price was expected to increase from an average cost of $65 per test taker to $195 (including test center fees), and the paper-based option would have been eliminated. Competition is expected to drive down average costs per test taker to $112 (including fees) and enable paper-based testing to remain available through 2016.

Nationally and in New Jersey, public concern over the impact of the price increase on test takers led to the entry of other test vendors into the market. In August, the Department of Education conducted an open Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process to consider new test vendors that could:

Offer applicants several testing options at competitive prices;

Ensure testing opportunities in all regions of the state;

Continue a paper testing option for a transitional period; and

Transition to the Common Core State Standards by 2016.

"I'm pleased that by opening the marketplace to new vendors, we have been able to keep costs down and expand the choices for those seeking an alternate route to the high school diploma," said Education Commissioner Chris Cerf. "We look forward to ongoing collaboration with the Department of Labor and New Jersey schools and businesses as we seek to accommodate the diverse educational needs of our citizens."

"For more than 50 years, the GED has served a useful purpose as the assessment that allows adults to receive a state-issued diploma," said Arcelio Aponte, President of the State Board of Education. "But as education improves, so do the opportunities and choices that we can provide to citizens of our state."

Starting in January, each authorized test center will be able to use any or all of three tests. To avoid incentivizing test centers to use just one test, the Department has set a uniform maximum fee of $40 that test centers can charge above the vendor fee. Test centers can also charge a $10 fee for subtests. ETS and McGraw Hill will offer both paper-based and computerized testing through 2016. Pearson VUE will offer computer based testing, with paper-based testing offered only as an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Moving forward, the Department will continue to approve new assessment vendors as they emerge.

The Department currently authorizes 30 test centers (centers are listed below). Starting early in 2014, the Department will seek to authorize additional testing centers.